Prescriber
Get the clinician’s full name, professional role and registration details. Ask who carries clinical responsibility.
Safety guide
Verify the pathway, not just the packaging.
A legitimate medicine is only one part of safe care. Check the clinician, clinical process, pharmacy, storage and follow-up as one connected pathway.
The safety principle
Five links. One chain of care.
No single badge, review or sealed box proves that an entire treatment pathway is safe. You need a qualified prescriber, an appropriate assessment, a legitimate product, clear instructions and continuity after you leave Turkey.
If one link cannot be verified, pause. Do not let a deposit, limited-time price or travel date rush a medical decision.
Assessment
Expect medical history, current medicines, relevant measurements and tests when clinically indicated.
Product
Confirm the active ingredient, exact brand, pack, expiry, batch and storage instructions.
Pharmacy
Use a licensed pharmacy. Avoid unnamed sellers, social-media supply and loose or relabelled pens.
Follow-up
Know who to contact for adverse effects, missed doses, dose review and care after returning home.
Turkey-specific check
Use official provider lists.
Turkey’s Ministry of Health publishes lists of healthcare providers authorised for international health tourism. Being listed does not replace your own clinical and commercial checks, but it is a useful starting point.
Open the official provider listCounterfeit risk
High demand attracts unsafe supply.
WHO has warned about falsified semaglutide products and advises obtaining medicines from authorised or licensed suppliers with a prescription.
Do
- Use the dispensing pharmacy yourself
- Keep the receipt and original carton
- Check tamper evidence, expiry and batch details
- Ask how cold storage was maintained
- Report anything unexpected promptly
Do not
- Buy through a hotel, driver or social account
- Accept a pen without its labelled box
- Use a product with spelling or print defects
- Share pens or needles
- Use a suspect product “just once”
When something feels wrong
Do not troubleshoot serious symptoms online.
If you have difficulty breathing, collapse, severe or persistent pain, repeated vomiting, signs of severe dehydration, a major change in vision or feel seriously unwell, seek urgent medical help. In Turkey, the emergency number is 112. Tell the team the exact product and when you last used it.
Procedure planning
Tell every relevant clinician.
GLP-1 medicines can delay stomach emptying. EMA advises patients to tell the doctor involved if surgery under general anaesthesia or deep sedation is planned.
- 1Tell the surgeon, anaesthetist and prescribing clinician.
- 2Follow their current, personalised instructions.
- 3Do not stop or change treatment on the basis of a generic web post.
Primary sources
Check the source, not just the summary.
01
WHO — falsified semaglutide warningOfficial advice on falsified products and safe sourcing
02WHO — safe and appropriate GLP-1 useJuly 2026 committee statement on supervision and unverified supply
03EMA — GLP-1 medicines and anaesthesiaOfficial safety communication about aspiration risk
04Turkey Ministry of Health — authorised providersOfficial international health tourism provider lists